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Sunday, September 23, 2012

I was feeling a little saucy myself. I returned to a long time favorite of mine. Passionfruit and Orange Sauce. Perfect for crepes, pancakes, waffles or just about anything you might like to pour a little sweet sauce on. I poured mine on some Home made Vanilla Ice Cream and fresh raspberries with a little mint.

The secret to this sauce is in the making. I wanted the sauce to be hot against the cold ice cream but still taste fresh. The combination of hot and cold and cooked and fresh makes the dish more interesting to eat.
It's Spring here in Oz and the shops are full of interstate fresh fruit and vegetables and I do try to buy local. I couldn't resist some Queensland Passionfruit and raspberries though.
Nearly everything else came from our local farmers market though so I didn't feel quite so bad for lashing out on the imports.

Place half of the juice and half of the pulp from the passionfruit in a small pot.

Blend the cornflour into the water.
Stir the cornflour and water into the juice and heat over medium flame, stirring constantly until it boils and thickens.

Reduce the heat and still stirring cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Add the rest of the fresh juice, passionfruit and liquer.
Taste and if it isn't sweet enough for your palate add 1 teaspoon of sugar, stirr to dissolve and then taste again.

Spoon some ice cream into a glass or bowl.
Top with the raspberries and sauce and garnish with some mint.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Where I work we tend to talk about food A LOT!!! Night shift
can be boring and food is a hot topic. This week there was an intense and at
times rather heated discussion that debated the superiority of gingerbread over cheesecake so I offered to bring a combination of both to our shared Friday
night dinner.

I give you Gingerbread Cheesecake.

I decided I didn’t want a hard base as in gingerbread man
hard I was thinking of the more cake type of gingerbread. The taste combination
of pears, macadamias and ginger is a match made in heaven if ever there was one. Plus
I was making it so I could do what I wanted.

I don't get paid to advertise or promote anyones products but I am going to give Buderims Glace Ginger a big thumbs up. Made and grown in Australia it is delicious. Buderim in Queensland has been the home of commercially grown ginger since before World War 1. The Buderim Ginger Growers Cooperative formed during the 2nd World War with a grand total of 25 pounds of working capital to start the 5 farmers on the road to their current role in supplying ginger to Australia and exporting to 17 different countries.

Combine the
butter, sugar, syrup, spices and ginger in a pan and pour over the boiling
water. Stir to melt the butter and sugar. If it doesn’t melt together
completely then heat the pot over a low heat until it does.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

This weekend has given us two amazing spring days. Perfect to walk on the beach. Off we went to Goolwa. We found a light breeze coming in from the sea, blue,blue sky and not too many people around. Luckily my yen for seafood yesterday prompted me to ring and book a table at Bombora's, a small kiosk cafe on the beach because they were busy. In front of the kiosk is a dining area with plastic curtains to block the sea winds.

Today those winds were mere breezes. It was a bit cool but the Husband and I had our wind jackets in the car and that was all we needed over our long sleeve shirts. Other patrons were colder and made good use of the blankets available. We arrived just before midday and had coffee and excellent german apple cake, the cake had beautiful pink lady apple slices around the edge and some delicious custard in the middle.

Next a walk up to the top of the boardwalk the photo above is the view back over Bomboras and the life guard tower. Then back down to the beach for a lesiurely 3 km stroll. No 1 Son, favorite Daughter In Law and No 1 grandson met us at Bomboras for a late lunch and it was fantastic. Bomboras is well known for its fried whitebait and it lived up to its reputation. Lightly tossed in flour and fried served with a sprinkle of parsley and a generous wedge of lemon. Grandson loved them and ate half the bowl. I did manage to grab a photo before we devoured the lot.

I had a small sardine niscoise salad that would have been better with some olives but otherwise lovely.

DIL's Grilled Mulloway with spring salsa was pronounced excellent.

No 1 Son had salt and pepper squid (the piece I stole was great), the dipping sauce tangy and perfect with the squid.

For me the highlight of the whole day was the best ever chocolate mousse cake. Creamy and chocolatey without being too rich, a little crunch from the toasted almonds and the crisp top served warm with a drizzle of home-made chocolate sauce, fresh cream and one of the best lattes I have had for ages.

We were home for dinner and wanted something light and quick. Jamie Olivers stuffed peppers fit the bill. From his 30 minute meals show they take 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.